Future Memory
by ZariGS
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto lost the final battle against Tobi. Fortunately, he got another chance...at a price. Born as Uzumaki Natsuki the second time around, 'she' can no longer afford to just rush in head first; with enemies around every corner, she must now use her wits to keep herself alive, all while trying to change the past for a better future. AU, Time Travel, fem!Naru.
1. Memory and Rebirth

A/N: Welcome to the latest story my bizarre muse has cooked up! This was originally two separate ideas I had, that eventually had parts of each combined into the story that follows this author's note. With that being said, I'll keep this note short and let you get on with the story, after the key, disclaimer, and warnings of course.

Update 1/1/13: I'm back, after far too long of a hiatus. While it's not a new chapter, I've added some more material to the end of this one to appease the masses. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any anime/manga/whatever I draw inspiration from. That being said, a small part of this story was inspired by another author's work, namely Returning to Him by Hikaru Uchida. While parts of this story might seem similar to said work, all of what follows is my own writing, but I will give credit for the ideas I used regardless. (And I'm not certain this will be a femnaru/itachi story either; we will have to see).

Warnings: Past reference to abuse, potential child abuse (in future chapters), violence, and potential writings of the citrus-y nature. If any of these things do not appeal to you, you can always press the handy back button on your respective browser; flames will not be tolerated.

Key:

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

_Flashback/Past Reference_

**"Demonic/Higher Being Speech"  
**

**'Demonic/Higher Being Thoughts'  
**

Now on with the show!

* * *

_Regret._

_That was all he had left. In the end, he hadn't been able to do anything; everyone he cared about was now dead. All because he had failed; failed to stop Tobi, failed to prevent the other Bijuu from being extracted, failed to end victorious in the Fourth Shinobi World War. Even now, as he waited helplessly for the extraction process to begin, all he felt was regret._

_The young man closed his eyes, sighing lightly._

_If only he'd been more prepared, if only he hadn't played the fool for the majority of his life, then perhaps things would have turned out differently. If only, if only, there always seemed to be an 'if only' when it came to his life. Even when he was still a child, all those years ago. Of course, back then it had been something along the lines of 'if only I had parents', but at least he was able to dream and hope for a brighter future._

_He let out a mirthless chuckle._

_Some future this was, what with his life about to end. And at only eighteen years of age, too. In the end, though, he supposed it was a fitting finale for the bucket of crap he called his life; there hadn't been a day that went by without him being scorned for a reason outside of his control, and now he was about to die for that same reason. Granted, he was glad that he and Kurama were on good terms with one another, but still. He only hoped that in death his precious people would forgive him for failing..._

**_"You know, kit, all this moping around doesn't suit you."_**

_Azure eyes opened once more, surprise flickering dimly in their dull depths as they noted a change in location. He'd been so lost in his regret that he failed to notice the telltale pull of the fox commandeering his consciousness into the mindscape they shared. Granted, for the kitsune it was somewhat of a prison, but they still shared it._

_While most times he had an inkling of what his tenant wanted when the Bijuu pulled him here, this time he was left in the dark. For once, the giant kitsune was completely unreadable; even the great fox's muzzle held little to betray the thoughts of the mind behind it. Curious, he let his blue eyes meet Kurama's red, though for a while neither spoke. After so many years spent in the other's presence, they could communicate somewhat without words._

_"Kurama." Naruto finally said, his voice sounding hollow and lifeless against the walls of the sewer, "Why did you bring me here?"_

_His Kitsune partner merely broke into a small grin._

**_"What? I can't say goodbye when it's time for me to go?"_**

_Naruto's face remained impassive, unchanged by his friend's attempt to lighten the mood. Inwardly, however, he was saddened that his final companion would joke about something like this; having had practically no friends all his life besides the great kitsune before him, it hurt that Kurama would make light of their current situation._

_Said fox, meanwhile, sighed when the humor attempt failed to bring Naruto out of his depression. He almost didn't believe that the disheveled young man before him was the same one as the cheerful and outgoing Jinchuriki he'd come to respect, but the facts were undeniable. There was only one being besides himself who could visit this mindscape outside of the gods themselves, and that was Naruto; still, perhaps what he had to say could bring back the old Naruto, if only slightly…. _

_His thoughts now in order, the fox adopted a serious expression._

**_"All joking aside, what if I told you that there was a way to get out of this mess? To potentially do it all over again? Straight from the beginning?"_**

_This, of course, got a reaction out of Naruto; Kurama had a hard time holding in his laughter when his container fell over almost comically. As it was, though, he merely snickered, getting a few good chuckles out before the young man righted himself and pointed an accusatory finger in his direction. _

_"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?!" The last Uzumaki practically screamed, annoyed that his friend would hold such information hostage. After all, moments previous he would have given an arm and a leg to go back and change everything; to find out it was actually possible, though..._

**_"In all honesty I didn't tell you because I was still searching for the information myself; after all, I have over a millennium of memories under my belt, and since I remember every single one…"_**

_The giant kitsune left his statement hanging, considering the implications were fairly obvious, even to a knucklehead like his container. Naruto grudgingly accepted the explanation, though he still wasn't happy._

_"…Fine, then would your lordship please oh-so-kindly tell this humble peasant what solution he has found?"_

_Kurama tactfully chose to ignore his container's blatant sarcasm, knowing that they didn't have much time left, even with the time dilation present in the mindscape. _

**_"Alright. Before I begin, I should warn you that this method I'm about to tell you about comes at a high price for both you and me; do you still want to hear it, knowing this fact?"_**

_"There's no other alternative?" Naruto asked, frowning slightly when the kitsune shook his head in the negative._

**_"There ARE alternatives, but sadly we have neither the time nor the resources necessary to use those methods."_**

_"Fine, then if you're up for paying whatever this price is, so am I." _

_Kurama gave him a toothy grin._

**_"I was hoping you'd say that. Anyways, what I'm about to suggest is….complicated. In a nutshell, though, we'd basically use my chakra to break the space-time continuum in a small area, and then push you through the 'hole'. It's essentially like your father's Hiraishin technique, except we focus mainly on the time aspect instead of space. That being said, because this sort of maneuver clashes with the very rules Kami set up to govern this dimension[1], the price of doing so is extremely steep; even I do not know what said price will be, only that the alternative to paying said price is a fate worse than death. So, with that being said, shall we?"_**

_Naruto gulped, but stood firm in his resolve. After all, the only plausible alternative to trying this was a painful, meaningless death at the hands of Tobi._

_"Yes, let's do it."_

**_"Good, then here's what I need you to do…."_**

_.-.-.-.-._

_Back in the physical world, Tobi was laughing maniacally, all while setting up the preparations for the extraction of the final Bijuu. Almost everything had gone according to plan at this point, and what hadn't was negligible. Granted, he was somewhat irritated that Naruto had managed to kill off Sasuke, meaning it would take longer to set up the extraction of the Kyuubi, but he supposed such a thing was for the better in the end. After all, his fellow Uchiha had been far too power hungry, and would have most likely turned on him when the chance presented itself. _

_Once everything was set up and ready to go, the last Uchiha allowed himself a moment to gloat. Soon, he would be a god of this world! A being without equal! All that he needed to do now was this final extraction; however, just as he was about to start the ritual, chakra started bubbling from the Kyuubi Jinchuriki's seal._

_Tobi merely snorted in amusement._

_Oh, he knew it would be some kind of escape attempt, but in the end it wouldn't matter. He had double- and triple-checked the restraining seals placed on the body of the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, and there was nothing wrong with them. And while he couldn't suppress the boy's chakra usage—the ritual was for the removal of chakra entities, after all—Tobi had accounted for such things, placing barriers that would halt any and all attempts to harm him with raw chakra alone._

_Unfortunately for the madman in question, he underestimated the combined ingenuity of Konoha's number one unpredictable ninja and the Kyuubi no Kitsune; even as he watched and waited, giving the captive pair precious seconds to complete their plan, Tobi still had an arrogant smirk on his face. Said smirk vanished, however, when the chakra cloak surrounding Naruto eventually fizzled out, revealing...nothing._

_The Kyuubi Jinchuriki was gone, vanished without a trace._

_It took a few moments for Tobi to realize what had happened, but when he did the yell of rage he let out could be heard for miles._

_Sadly, yelling would do nothing to bring Naruto back._

* * *

_Unknown Location (World Between Worlds):_

_Naruto was falling. Not just falling, but Falling. He couldn't tell left from right, up from down, or forwards from backwards; all he knew was that he was falling, having done so for an eternity and would continue to do so for another._

_How long had he been here? Naruto didn't remember._

_Where exactly was here? Naruto didn't remember._

_Why was he here? That, Naruto remembered._

_He was here—wherever here was—to get back to the beginning. To change all the choices he had made. To relive his life for a second time. And this time hopefully save them all._

_As if that thought was a trigger, Naruto became aware of light; at first he didn't believe his eyes, having lived so long in the darkness, but soon it became apparent that the light was indeed there. His eyes did not deceive him. It was faint, and off in the distance, but definitely there. Soon, however, it grew brighter, consuming the darkness that had been his world for however long he had been in this bizarre realm._

_Yet he kept on falling._

_.-.-.-.-._

_What felt like ages later, he heard a voice. It was soft, lilting almost, yet at the same time it held more power than Naruto's mortal mind could comprehend. As it was, though, he listened to what it had to say; how could he not, when it spoke directly into his mind?_

_**"Young one, welcome to the realm of the gods. We, as a collective group, know of your situation and reason for coming here. However, that does not mean we can let you get away with breaking the rules of your dimension; are you ready to hear the price for doing so?"**_

_Naruto nodded as best he could, somehow knowing that he was unable to vocalize his thoughts._

_**"Very well. Your price for breaking the rules is your existence as Uzumaki Naruto. Do you accept this stipulation for returning to the past, knowing that the consequences of refusing will be harsher than you can imagine?"**_

_The young Uzumaki blanched. How the hell did he get stuck with such a ridiculous price? Granted, he'd known the price for breaking Kami's rules would be high, but not that high. This practically put him in a lose-lose situation no matter what he did! After all, how could he save those precious to him if he ceased to exist? Moreover how could he even return to the beginning if such a thing happened? _

_However, the more he thought about the matter, the more he realized that there was something important he was missing; it was for this reason that he decided to take a leap of faith and accept the stipulation the voice gave him, regardless of how much he disliked his choice. If there had been another way he would have taken it in a heartbeat, but there wasn't. In the end, though, he decided that losing his existence sounded like a more peaceful way to go than whatever the gods had planned for him if he refused. _

_His mind made up, he nodded once more, eyes burning with renewed determination._

_That, along with laughter that sounded like the tinkling of bells, was the last thing he remembered before the world went white._

* * *

"Come on Kushina, push! You're almost there!"

"When will you get it through your thick skull that I'm _trying_, Namikaze!"

The redhead in question gritted her teeth as almost every muscle in her body screamed out in protest. She'd been stuck here in this tiny room for quite a while now, ever since her water broke. Of course, it was only very recently that the pain started, but that was to be expected, since the nine month long process was reaching its climax.

If you haven't already guessed it, Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze, Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune and wife of the Yondaime Hokage, was giving birth.

To the redhead in question, this was like a dream come true; ever since she was a little girl, Kushina's dream had been to have a large family, having lost all of her fellow clan members at a young age when Uzushiogakure no Sato fell to war. She had been devastated upon hearing the news—like anyone would be upon the loss of their family—but to her credit she had quickly recovered, growing up to become one of Konoha's most successful kunoichi. Even then, though, she carried with her the loss of her clan, never quite letting the old wound heal. But now, some fifteen or so years later from the time when she lost everything, she could finally let those thoughts go; by becoming a mother she was continuing her clan's legacy, and in the process letting the ghosts of her past finally have the peace and rest they deserved.

Despite all that, however, giving birth was quickly topping the list of painful experiences she was reluctant to feel again; it felt like someone was ever-so-slowly ripping out the base of her spine, only for said chain of bones to grow back and have the process repeat itself. Granted, part of the problem was that this was her first time giving birth, but still. Regardless of how many times one went through the process, it wasn't a pleasant experience by any stretch of the imagination.

Minato, meanwhile, could only watch and worry as his beloved redhead struggled to bring their child into this world, a grimace clearly etched on his facial features. The grimace was there because Kushina held his hand in hers for comfort, but was starting to crush said extremity as a byproduct of both her monstrous strength and being in so much pain. While he knew the medic-nin could fix him up as good as new once this whole ordeal was over, it still hurt, hence the frown marring his otherwise handsome face.

Still, despite the pain his captive hand was causing him, the Yondaime Hokage couldn't help but feel excited. Like his wife, Minato had always desired to have a family, having been an orphan for as long as he could remember. As such, both parents-to-be had been elated when they learned that Kushina was pregnant; finally, they would be able to make a start on their shared desire.

That being said, coming up with a name for their child had been easier said than done—it had taken almost all of the nine months for the pair to narrow down their ideas to only two names, one for each gender. If the infant turned out to be a boy, the couple would call him Naruto; it was a name based off of a character in Minato's sensei Jiraiya's first book, The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja. And if their child ended up as a girl—which Kushina's motherly intuition seemed to indicate as the day their child would be born approached—they would name her Natsuki. However, seeing as they wouldn't know the gender until the infant entered the world, that was as far as they got.

Back with Kushina, their child had finally come free, and was in the process of being cleaned of the blood and placenta that covered her small body. Even as the infant cried out loudly, her parents couldn't help but smile at the young life they'd brought into this world. It was a magical moment, that, unfortunately, was ruined only seconds later.

Before either parent could react, the midwives cleaning their child were killed with two swift strikes of a kunai. They could only watch, their horror growing, as the young life they'd just brought into world was scooped up by the intruder. Who was it? Why, none other than a mysterious masked man.

"Step away from the host, Minato Namikaze. Or the child dies."

As if to emphasize his point, the intruder held the bloody kunai used to kill both midwives to the infant's neck. Realizing that his newborn child could very well die if he didn't do something, Minato spoke up, raising his hands in a placating gesture.

"Easy, easy...let's calm down and talk this over like civilized people before resorting to such drastic measures."

The mysterious man merely arched an eyebrow, though you couldn't tell he did so because of the spiral mask he wore.

"We are ninja, _Kiiroi Senko_. 'Civilized' talking is about as far from the job description as you can get. Now, step away from the Jinchuriki...Or. The. Child. Dies."

"Alright, Alright! I'll do as you ask." His face set in a neutral expression, the Yondaime took a step backwards, then another, always keeping his eyes on the man who held his baby girl captive. However, for each step he took, moving clockwise around the small room, the intruder took one in the opposite direction, always keeping the distance between the two men approximately the same.

After reaching the bedside, the masked man slowly removed the kunai from Natsuki's neck, making Minato sigh in relief. However, before the Fourth Hokage had even completed said sigh, the unknown assailant said one word that made both parents' hearts lurch with fear.

"Catch."

The next few moments were a blur of motion; even as Minato moved to ensnare the now-flying infant in his arms, deflecting the kunai that followed soon after, the masked man was already at work ripping the Kyuubi no Kitsune free from Kushina's seal. Said woman, being already weak from giving birth, could do little more than cry out in pain as her tenant was being forcefully removed from her body.

"Kushina! You bastard, I'll—" Minato yelled, stopping mid-sentence when he heard a sizzling coming from the bundle in his arms. Eyes widening at the multitude of exploding tags covering his daughter's blanket, he quickly removed said article before disappearing in his trademark yellow flash.

Reappearing in the forest surrounding Konohagakure no Sato, the Yellow Flash wasted no time dropping the bomb-riddled blanket and leaving in the same manner as he arrived. Of course, he didn't return to the small alcove straight away, as Natsuki was still in his arms; the Kiiroi Senko knew that trying to fight a man who could get through his protective sealing barriers with one hand tied up was practically suicide.

However, when he _did _return to the room—after safely depositing his daughter back at his and Kushina's house—the sight which met Minato's eyes made his blood run cold.

The masked assailant was, thankfully, nowhere to be found. Unfortunately, that was where the good news ended; his wife's seal was now in complete disarray, meaning that said man had succeeded in removing her tenant. In addition, Kushina looked to be only just hanging onto life by a thread—which, although not good news in itself, was better than the alternative.

Death.

Wasting no more time Minato rushed to her side, quickly performing a diagnostic jutsu to find out if there were any injuries she sustained from having her tenant forcefully removed. He very nearly breathed a sigh of relief when all that turned up was internal bleeding, but immediately restrained himself, instead focusing medical chakra to his hands in order to correct the problem. While by no means was internal bleeding the worst that could have happened—a ruptured organ for instance would be far worse—it could still prove fatal if not treated quickly.

. . . . .

Roughly twenty minutes of intensive medical attention later, and Kushina was out of the danger zone. Sitting back with a weary sigh, Minato closed his eyes, his mind a maelstrom of questions.

Who was that masked man? How had he broken through the protective barrier? Why was he after the Kyuubi? Moreover, what did he need said kitsune for? All these and more flickered through his head in a little over an instant. But as hard as he tried to find them, the answers to such questions eluded him; he was lacking in the information department, and knew it. Perhaps his wife would be able to shed some light on the purpose of all this, given that she was the one to have spent the most time with the intruder, but that would have to wait until she woke up.

Thankfully, he only had to wait roughly another half an hour before the redheaded woman started to stir, her Uzumaki vitality having repaired what little of the internal damage Minato hadn't been able to correct.

"Minato...our musume...is she safe?" Kushina mumbled, groaning as she tried to prop herself up on the headboard of the bed.

Key word there was tried; her muscles sharply protested at even that small movement, so she settled for shifting her head ever so slightly to the side to look at her husband. Minato merely nodded once their eyes met, not trusting himself to speak just yet. Smiling gently at the affirmative gesture, she closed her eyes once more, trusting his word that Natsuki was indeed safe and sound.

"I'll go get her; I'm sure she would want to see her mother, after all. I'll be right back..."

Giving a chaste kiss to his wife's forehead, the Yondaime stood up, disappearing once more in a yellow flash.

. . . . .

Idly the Kiiroi Senko wondered how matters could have traveled this far south in such a short time; scarcely a few hours ago he had been a part of the perfect happy family, with a wife and child that he loved with all his heart. Now, however, that picture had been utterly ruined.

Even as he stood atop Gamabunta, going through the nine hand seals needed to summon the Shinigami, he couldn't help but let a few tears fall in mourning for the happy family that was now all but destroyed. Natsuki would be forced to grow up without any parents, not to mention the burden he was about to place upon her shoulders. He had no doubt that what he was about to do would condemn his only child to a life of misery, but sadly there just wasn't any other way to go about protecting Konoha. As Hokage, that was his duty.

And unfortunately, his duty came before his family.

He could only hope that when they met again in the afterlife his daughter would forgive him. And even if she couldn't, he and his wife would still love her with all their hearts. So, with that thought in the forefront of his mind, he set about sealing the Kyuubi's Yin chakra within himself using **Shiki Fuujin**, and its Yang chakra within Natsuki using the **Hakke no Fuuin Shiki **immediately after.

His final task completed, Minato Namikaze closed his eyes for what would be the last time, but not before uttering three heartfelt words.

"Be safe...musume..."

* * *

[1]: I wrote this under the assumption that the gods of Naruto's realm set things up similar to how physics works in the real world, hence the hiraishin and/or kamui techniques are perfectly fine because they only deal with jumping through space. However, time—like in the real world—is only supposed to move forward; as such there is a penalty enacted by the gods to those who break this rule.

* * *

A/N: rehashed and lengthened this chapter, because after a long time spent ruminating over it, I found this to be a better stopping place.

Anyways, this is what you can call a 'trial run' chapter; I don't know at this point whether or not I will continue this ficlet, since I have a lot of stuff going on in my life at the moment. If this gets enough of a positive response, though, I will do my best to continue it. Just know that if the latter happens, updates will be sporadic at best :(

With that being said, if any of you who read this can give a review—even if it's only something along the lines of 'good job'—you'll make me one very happy author :)

Here's to another chapter (hopefully) out soon,

-ZGS


	2. The Changes Begin

A/N: Hello all, and welcome to the second chapter of Future Memory! It's been a long time in coming, but like I state on my profile page I haven't abandoned any of my currently in-progress fics. But enough of my rambling; you came here for a new chapter, so I'll give you one, after the key and disclaimer of course!

**Disclaimer: ZariGS does not own Naruto, or any other work(s) this ficlet happens to cross with. Those belong to their respective creators. I make no money off of this fanfiction; you could sue but you'd get nada for your efforts.**

Key:

"Talking"

'Thinking'

**"Demonic talking/Bijuu speech"**

**'Bijuu thinking'  
**

And now on with the show!

* * *

_Previously on Future Memory:_

_His final task completed, Minato Namikaze closed his eyes for what would be the last time, but not before uttering three heartfelt words._

_"Be safe...musume..."_

. . . . .

_Timeskip: approximately 6 years after the Kyuubi Attack_

It was the dawn of a new morning; birds were chirping, squirrels chattering, and the people of Konohagakure no Sato were just waking up to another normal day. For most civilian families there was nothing particularly special about this date, but for the ninja families it marked the start of the Academy, where their children would head to begin the journey towards becoming full fledged adults. Of course, this was often also seen as a sort of celebratory date, as it marked a turning point in history for the new generation. Children celebrated the start of their ascension with their friends and family, oftentimes throwing parties for each new entrant into the Academy. And even in the orphanage there would be a small party after the introductory ceremony for those members who entered as budding shinobi or kunoichi...with one notable exception.

Uzumaki Natsuki.

Said girl would be forced to sit—all alone—in her room as the rest of the orphanage's inhabitants trooped off to the Academy, and then got to open presents or eat sweets when they got back. Of course, even when it wasn't a special day she would _still _be forced to stay put like some sort of prisoner, which, in reality, she probably was.

Not that she had any choice in the matter, having been placed in the orphanage by the Sandaime shortly after her birth.

She supposed she should hate the man for putting her in a place where everyone loathed her very being, but Natsuki found it hard to do so; after all, he was one of the few people in Konoha who actually cared about her enough to check up on her wellbeing every once in a while. And besides, it wasn't like he could force people to like her, even if he _was_ the Hokage...

Sighing lightly, the young girl debated whether or not she wanted to go back to sleep for a moment, before eventually deciding that it was probably better to stay awake. Even if she didn't have anything to do other than ponder the mysteries of the universe, keeping her internal sleep cycle on time would allow her to at least have _some _semblance of a schedule. Not that it made much of a difference one way or the other, given her predicament.

Still, despite all the hardships she had to put up with on a daily basis, the young Uzumaki retained an optimistic—if slightly jaded—outlook on life. After all, unlike in her past life, in this timeline she was still alive.

Yes, she remembered everything from her time as Uzumaki Naruto, but unfortunately there was little she could do to correct her current standing in life; it wasn't like she could tell anyone about what was going to happen in this timeline's future, as that would do little more than earning her a one-way ticket to an insane asylum. No, she most likely wouldn't tell anyone about her past—or was that future?—life, because that way she could try to influence events as they happened.

However, before Natsuki could continue further down that line of thought one of the matrons came by with her morning meal. Natsuki ignored the sneer that accompanied it, already having become long since used to that type of treatment, opting to wait until her door was once again closed before getting up from her cot and silently making the short trek over to where her meal had been set down. Granted, a small serving of bread, cheese and water was hardly an adequate breakfast, but at least it contained a reasonable amount of calories for her undernourished body.

. . . . .

Once she was finished eating what little had been provided for her, the young girl returned to the warmth of her cot, intent on continuing the train of thought she'd been following before being interrupted.

In all honesty she knew that telling anyone—with the possible exception of Kurama—about her past life would be a very bad idea. There was no telling what people would attempt to do to her when they learned of that particular bit of information—if they even believed her at all, that is. And as much as the idea of keeping secrets from the Sandaime pained her, she was forced to remember that he had and was currently doing the same to her with both her parentage and the fact that she was a Jinchuriki. Of course, it wasn't quite the same since she already knew those two particular facts, but still. Speaking of her tenant, though, perhaps she could try contacting him sooner rather than later...

Filing that thought away for later contemplation, Natsuki returned her focus to the room around her as the sound of footsteps grew closer. Now, considering that the orphanage's rooms were practically built back to back, she was fairly certain that whoever was walking down the hallway wasn't coming for her; the matrons tended to avoid contact with the 'demon child' whenever possible, and as far as she knew it wasn't time for the Sandaime's monthly visit, so that ruled out the two likeliest possibilities. That being said, she could do little more than eloquently raise an eyebrow when the footsteps seemed to stop outside of her door.

However, before whoever it was could open said entrance into her small haven, another set of footsteps approached, this time more rapidly than than the first. Natsuki merely rolled her eyes at this, bringing her legs up against her torso and wrapping her arms around them. Judging from the lighter footsteps, the second person was most likely a matron coming to dissuade whoever the first was from entering her room. And while she was already used to this kind of behavior from the orphanage staff, given that it happened almost any time someone got curious, that didn't make the pain of loneliness any easier to deal with.

Shifting her gaze to the wall opposite where she sat, Natsuki couldn't help but tune out the muffled argument that had sprouted like a weed on the other side of her door. It was always the same story, what with the civilian council blocking any and all attempts at adopting her, regardless of who the adopting party was. It was exactly the same in her past life as well; considering that she hadn't really made any changes to this timeline yet, why should this be any different?

Surprisingly enough, though, when she came out of her musings the two on the other side of her door were still going at it. And from the sounds of multiple pairs of feet converging towards her door, they were rapidly drawing a crowd.

It was at this point that Natsuki finally decided to start paying attention to what the people were saying, only to catch the tail end of a sentence that made her heart skip a beat.

"—don't care; I _will_ see my goddaughter, head matron's rules be damned!"

Her eyes went wide. It couldn't be. Could it?

A few seconds and one open door later, and the young Uzumaki was staring at a sight that she never thought she'd see again.

. . . . .

Jiraiya of the Sannin prided himself on many things; being a Super Pervert was obviously one of the more known ones, but there was also the fact that he was able to retain a cool head in basically any situation. However, when he opened that door he was not expecting to see a malnourished child who looked like she would keel over from the slightest gust of wind. Of all the things he expected, that was actually last on the list. So it was with a small degree of shame that he nearly lost control of his temper—in actuality, it was only the sight of Natsuki recoiling in terror from his snarling visage that allowed him to reign in his anger, though it still smoldered dangerously.

It took all the self-control he had to stop himself from just grabbing the child and shunshin-ing to Hiruzen's office to demand an explanation as to why his goddaughter was not being properly taken care of. After all, her malnourishment looked to have been going on for some time now, which completely contradicted the bi-weekly notifications he'd been receiving from the Sandaime. As it was, he had to close his eyes and count to ten before he could properly form a smile on his face.

When he managed that, though, it came out as more of a sheepish grin than anything else. Because honestly, let's face it, not being there for your goddaughter for six years and then trying to suddenly enter her life _would _make you feel rather sheepish. The grin did a good job of destroying her fear of him, however.

"Sorry about that Natsuki-chan; I didn't mean to scare you, I was just...frustrated over something."

Said girl merely sweatdropped at the lame excuse, but didn't say anything to contradict his statement.

"...Who...are you?" She asked finally, after a few awkward moments spent finding her voice.

Now, obviously she knew the answer to her own question, but the fact remained that she wasn't supposed to be privy to that sort of information yet. Although it irked her to no end, she'd have to play the part of the attention-deprived girl for a while...

Jiraiya, meanwhile, furrowed his brow slightly at the question. From the curious look on her face she really _didn't _know who he was, despite that sort of information being mostly common knowledge in Hi no Kuni. That, combined with the fact that she had seemingly been locked in this room while the academy introductory ceremony was going on, made him question whether his decision regarding leaving her in the Sandaime's care was really the correct choice.

Because just from the way she looked—her blonde locks matted and tangled, her clothes unwashed and disheveled, and her frame slightly gaunt—it most certainly wasn't in his eyes.

However, while he very much wanted to go beat some sense into the Sandaime for his negligence of what he promised, getting his goddaughter out of this...prison of hers took priority over all else. But in order to do that, he first had to introduce himself; so, deciding that he would forgo his usual extravagant introduction in favor of a more...simple one, he knelt down until he was at her eye level.

"You can call me Jiraiya. Or, if you prefer a title, your godfather."

"Jiraiya-kyōfu...?"

"That's right, and you're going to be coming with me, regardless of who might try to stop us." He cast a pointed glare at the matrons who were standing behind him, mouths agape in shock.

Natsuki merely giggled at their expressions, before doing her best impression of a rocket, practically throwing herself at him with delight at getting out of this place. Of course, given his extensive training as a shinobi, the toad sannin's reflexes were fast enough that he could shift his position enough to capture the young girl in a two-way hug instead of having her merely latch her arms around his neck. However, because of how her face was currently buried in the crook of his neck, the young Uzumaki couldn't see Jiraiya's face as his earlier frown returned.

Little did she know that he had just made a promise to himself; a promise that would turn her life almost completely upside-down.

. . . . .

Roughly ten minutes later and the pair were standing just outside the Hokage's office, Jiraiya having shunshin'd both of them to the base of the tower after leaving the orphanage. The elder of the two would have liked to walk the distance instead, in order to get to know his goddaughter better, but he had a nagging feeling that whatever reason the matrons had for their odd insistence about keeping Natsuki in that place had some connection to his Sensei...and he intended to find out exactly what that connection was. The glares the young child received upon stepping out onto the street did nothing to dissuade his choice, either.

Casting a sidelong glace at his goddaughter while he talked to the Hokage's receptionist, he couldn't help but marvel over how much she looked like her parents—even through her disheveled state. Though Natsuki's hair was messy, he could tell that once clean and combed it would have the same sun-kissed color as her father's, but without the same sort of spikiness. And her eyes...they were a perfect blend of both parents; the vibrant amethyst color was inherited from her mother, yet the slight oval shape came from Minato. She also had her father's facial structure, though Jiraiya could see a hint of her mother in the way her jawline completed her heart-shaped face. Just based on those observations alone he suspected that, if given enough time and care, she would grow up to be a stunning young woman with many men after her hand in marriage. That is, if they could differentiate between the container and tenant...

"Ne, Jiraiya-kyōfu...are we going to see Jiji or not?" Natsuki asked, breaking him out of his musings.

"Hm? Oh yes, we will, but first..." He knelt down so they could see eye to eye, his expression quickly turning serious.

"I want you to promise me that no matter what happens in your Jiji's office, you won't think I'm angry at you. Yes, I probably will be angry when we go in there, because some bad people did some bad things, but I'm not angry at you specifically. Can you do that for me, Natsuki?"

"Un! I promise!" She chirped, somehow managing to sound both cute and yet serious at the same time.

Chuckling slightly at her upbeat reply, the toad sannin stood back to his full height, taking one of her small hands in his own.

"Alright then, let's go."

. . . . .

Sarutobi Hiruzen was not having a good day. The reason for this was quite simple; he was currently sitting in his office, absolutely swamped with paperwork. And not just any paperwork, mind you, but stacks upon stacks of trivial matters that _should _have been delegated to the civilian council, but weren't. So he was quite glad for the distraction when his secretary paged him through the intercom, telling the aging Hokage that there were two people here to see him.

"Send them in." He messaged back, grumbling slightly to himself as he shifted some of the _rather large _stacks of paperwork to the side.

Of course, the Sandaime's face immediately brightened when Jiraiya came through the door, though he was slightly confused as to the unusual method of entrance, seeing as the toad sannin almost always used the window when he dropped by. The reason for this atypical approach quickly became apparent to the aging Kage, however, when the second person passed through the doorway.

"Natsuki?! Is that you?" he asked, almost falling out of his chair in surprise at her unkempt appearance.

"Un!"

Hiruzen took a few moments to compose himself, then motioned for the young girl to come sit on his lap. She did so without a shred of hesitation, sighing contentedly as he started combing her hair with his fingers.

"Child, what in Kami's name happened to you...?" He asked, working his way through the many tangles in her long locks.

"The orphanage happened." Jiraiya said, his face set in a grim expression.

"Explain."

"Right, well, I suppose I should start at the beginning. As you've probably already guessed I returned to the village today for my monthly report, but that wasn't the only reason I chose this date; today was also the introductory ceremony for the Academy, and I'd hoped to give my goddaughter here a gift to celebrate her entrance."

The toad sannin took out a small object wrapped in green paper from his robes, a smile flitting onto his face as he passed it to an overjoyed Natsuki. However, that smile soon disappeared when he recalled what had happened.

"Unfortunately, when I went to the Academy the ceremony was just winding down. That in itself wasn't the problem, though; when I searched for her chakra signature, I had a hard time finding it." Here Jiraiya sent a pointed glance at the Sandaime, explaining without words why that was troubling. "I finally located it back at the orphanage, but when I got there and asked to see her..."

The Hokage frowned, already having an inkling of where this was going.

"To be blunt, Sensei, they basically denied her existence entirely, even though I _knew _she was in the building thanks to my senjutsu training. I had to sneak past the matron at the entrance, because she tried to bar me entry for associating with the, and I quote, 'demon child', even though she was _supposedly_ not in the orphanage."

"And after that, you know what I found? Natsuki was locked in her own room, in the condition you saw her in when we arrived here. I basically had to break her out of there, before bringing her to you."

The sannin took a breath, doing his damnedest to reign in his roiling emotions.

"What I want to know, if you'll pardon my language, is why the FUCK you were _not_ taking care of my goddaughter like you promised me you would? I _trusted _you Sensei!"

The eldest Sarutobi visibly recoiled at his student's outburst.

"Jiraiya, I...I did what I—"

"Bullshit! You did NOTHING! You didn't even make sure she was getting a reliable amount of _food_! I mean look at her! Does that look like a healthy young girl to you?!"

Hiruzen merely looked down, guilt weighing heavily upon his conscience as the toad sannin started to pace around the small room. Unfortunately for the aging Kage, though, his student didn't stop ranting there, instead continuing to list off all the problems he could have—and most likely should have—fixed for the better part of half an hour. Of course, by the time Natsuki's godfather finally started to run out of steam, the Third Hokage was truly feeling his age; slumped deep into his chair, the utter feeling of defeat practically rolling off of him in waves.

The object of their rather one-sided discussion, however, was slowly but surely gaining a tickmark on her forehead at Jiraiya's incessant verbal assault. Didn't he know that whipping a downed horse wouldn't make it go any faster?!

**"Jiraiya-kyōfu..."**

Both men paused, broken out of their thoughts by the sickly sweet tone Natsuki had used, only to start sweating buckets at the murderous aura she was giving off.

"Y-yes...?" The sannin asked timidly, all of his earlier anger forgotten as he idly wondered how a six year-old girl could sound so demonic.

**"Shut. Up."**

"B-but..."

**"NO BUTS!"** she roared, causing papers to start flying around the room as though they were trying to escape her wrath. However, it wasn't long before she followed her godfather's earlier example, taking a calming breath in order to reel in her anger.

"Verbally flaying Ji-chan is not going to change the past, nor is it going to make my life any easier. Yes, he might have made a few bad choices, but if he truly regrets those—" Natsuki glanced at the Hokage, who nodded slowly, "—then there is no reason to go to such lengths. Instead we should be focusing on trying to correct what problems there are. **Do I make myself clear?**"

Only one thought passed through the two males' heads as they rapidly nodded their acceptance.

'She is truly Kushina's daughter...'

* * *

A/N: Tee hee! I'll stop the story there. Slightly shorter chapter than the edited chapter one, and no cliffhanger this time, but hopefully this will appease the masses enough to keep you wanting more. And while some of you might still have questions regarding Jiraiya's early entrance in this timeline, those will most likely be answered in upcoming chapters. :)

I also have a poll on my profile for possible pairings for Natsuki in this ficlet (if any), so be sure to vote if you want to see a certain person paired with her! I'll do my best to make the top voted choice work, but I can't guarantee that all characters will work as a pairing.

And in response to the one guest review I received, I didn't make Natsuki have red hair because this is a time travel ficlet. If I did use your suggestion, then she simply wouldn't be a female Naruto; she would be a Kushina clone, which is not what I want. While I am sorry that this might be a turn off for you, it just wouldn't fit with the story, so I hope you understand.

Peace out and forever writing,

-ZGS


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